Nisroc's Destiny
by The Red One - Stevie Rae
Summary: A set of three scenarios I can see happening with Nisroc. Rated T for some violence and mild language. Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.
1. AN, Preface

Since the first time he was mentioned by name in Destined, Nisroc has not had much book time. And yet, it seems to me that we can tell more about him and his personality and what motivates him in that short time then we can about characters who have had a much stronger presence over a considerably longer time. I don't think that we would know that much about him for no reason. I have this feeling that at the very end of Redeemed, Nisroc will suddenly become the single most important character in the entire series.

Surely you are probably thinking that that sounds a bit dramatic. I mean, he's not the best character. That spot actually goes to his big brother :) And he's certainly not the most prominent. But I think that somehow, everybody's fate will rest on his shoulders.

I don't know how I think Nisroc will end up…honestly I could see it going three different ways. And I wanted to share what I was thinking :) So the next three chapters will follow three different scenarios: one where Nisroc remains fairly neutral, one where he ends up being good, and one where he's bad. In all three cases, however, what happens with him determines the fate of the whole group. First, this is a short summary of where I will be approaching all of the scenarios from, just to give you an idea what I'm thinking. They will all be slightly different, but this is just to sort of set you up:

It is finally time for the Nerd Herd to put an end to Neferet once and for all. Everyone who's still left standing has recovered and is finally in pretty good shape, so Zoey and her circle head to face off against the Tsi Sgili, along with Rephaim, Aphrodite, Darius, Erik, Thanatos, Aurox, and Nicole. Kalona tags along too, but everyone except Rephaim is still questioning his true involvement with the group, unsure of the nature of his motives.

They head out on to the grounds of the House of Night to find Neferet well-prepared, with the remaining rogue Red Fledglings and the Raven Mockers, who are surprised and a bit confused to see Kalona arriving with Zoey. Neferet herself sits atop the enormous white bull, and the battle begins…


	2. Nonpartisan (Kalona POV)

Trailing the disheveled group, I strode out of the castle-like building and into the crisp evening air. The Tsi Sgili was here. I could feel her presence. My son was among those closer to me, but he was clutching on to the Red Priestess with such ardor that I could not capture his attention. Surely the immortal blood that ran through his veins could feel Neferet as well. But he didn't seem any more anxious than the rest of the group, and that concerned me. Was I the only one who was on edge with the knowledge that she lay so close?

Goddess, was it dark. Normally my eyes were well-adjusted to the night, but eerily quickly a shadow seemed to cling to the air, obscuring everything around us. Rephaim looked back at me then, his eyes wide. I did not know what to say.

"Zoeyyyyyy…" A voice hissed from somewhere in front of us. The entire group froze, trying to find the source of the sound. I was certain it was Neferet. The question that remained was, where exactly is she?

The first thing I saw was the beast's eyes. They glowed an ominous blood-red as the thing began to come into view, still enshrouded by an unearthly mist. Slowly, the white form emerged. Too close. For us to be able to see it, it was too close. The pallid form was the only thing that was visible, the shadows were so great. I stepped up to meet Zoey at the front of the group. They would need my strength if they were to stand any chance at all.

The massive bull reared its awful head. Behind me, I sensed Stevie Rae shudder. The Priestess moved a step even closer to my son, who held her protectively. Zoey looked to me, fighting not to reveal the fear that threatened to take over every part of her body. But it was flashing through her eyes. That she was so frightened was worrying to me. She needed to stay strong and help me to hold the group together if we were to win this. But, of course, her lack of experience was proving to be detrimental to our success. What was I thinking, stepping up to face Darkness with a group of _children_?

"Well, well, well. Just look who we have here!" The Tsi Sgili's voice rang through the shadows that still hung low in the air.

I drew strength from my immortal blood to amplify my voice, so that it would carry mightily through the heaviness, and boomed, "Emily! This is your chance to surrender yourself. If you refuse, we will be forced to show you no mercy!"

My use of her real name stunned her for a moment. Good. I had hoped to throw her off her guard, and clearly it was working. Her disguise faltered, and the cloak of shadows that had enshrouded her, blocking her from our vision, were momentarily interrupted. Now we knew that she sat atop the white bull. Who knew how many lives she had been forced to take to earn back his trust? I would show her no mercy. No matter her answer. But I would have felt remiss had I not made the offer.

A small voice shattered the silence I had created. "F-f-father?"

From the shadows to the left of the bull, I heard a small rustle of feathers and the owner of the voice plodded toward us. He got about a third of the way, before I recognized the cautious form as Nisroc.

"Father? You stand Zoey next to why?" he croaked, befuddlement clouding his scarlet eyes. "Understand Nisroc does not."

"Silence, creature!" Neferet snarled, her eyes still piercing me.

"Nisroc answer you not! Father? You Zoey why…?"

"I said ENOUGH!" And with that, the Tsi Sgili flung a wave of tendrils toward my second oldest son. They latched onto him, slicing his reddish toned skin as they sank hungrily into him, black feathers fluttering one by one to the ground.

"Father?" Fear and panic flashed rapidly through Nisroc's eyes. He writhed in agony and tried to stagger toward me. I wanted to go to him, to make it stop, but it was as if my legs had turned to lead. I heard a soft thud behind me as Rephaim sank to his knees, unable to simply watch the injustice, but also held back by some invisible force, unable to move any closer.

Nisroc managed to close another half of the distance between us. He was close enough now that I could see the red-tinged tears that streamed from his eyes as his agonized screeches cut through the shadows.

I could bear it no longer. My eyes glued to Neferet, I coaxed first one leg, then the other, to carry me toward my struggling son. The tendrils pricked and whipped and stung, opening lesions, lapping up my boy's life blood. I could not get close enough to ease his pain. The shadows kept bouncing me back.

"Stop it! Just STOP!" came a shriek from behind me. I turned to see Stevie Rae collapse under the weight of Rephaim's emotions. "He didn't do anything to you, so just Leave. Him Alone!"

Neferet chuckled and the shadows began to shrink away, revealing a mangled form that only vaguely resembled my son.

"Father? Zoey? Nisroc wanted Father proud to be…but…Nisroc…Neferet with…and Zoey…Father proud be not…would he? Nisroc so very wanted Father proud to make…"

Gently, I pulled him toward me, hushing him. His breathing became more and more labored until, too soon, he expired.

Anger flashed through me with such a passion that it surpassed even that which had overpowered me when Nyx cast me from her side all those years ago. I rose from my crouch and spread my wings to their full span and…

Oh, Goddess.

How had I been so completely blinded?

Full on war had erupted around me. Zoey and her circle were causing enough of a holdup right now, it seemed, so I needed to focus my attention on…

Where was she?

Through the haze of chaos that enveloped the night, the Tsi Sgili seemed to have disappeared. Oh, Goddess damn her! It was all I could do to keep from collapsing. She had won. She had succeeded in distracting me long enough that she could commence a battle and disappear before I had a chance to stop her. But it didn't make any sense. Wouldn't she want to finish Zoey off herself?

Zoey, too was distracted, trying to keep a check on her circle. That was it! Neferet wanted both of us distracted so that she could make her move without us anticipating anything. So I would wait with my son. But I would not be distracted.

Sure enough, before too much time had passed, I saw a shadow slip from behind one tree to behind a hedge near the dorm walls. Thinking quickly, I called my favorite son to me, noticing that Zoey stood with Stevie Rae, and he could pass my warning on to the Red One through their Imprint. Within seconds, Stevie Rae jumped and nudged Zoey. The fledgling's eyes shot me a look of understanding, although to any watching eyes her attention would not have appeared to waver from her circle.

Now to wait for the right moment. Oh, how my immortal blood boiled. I knew her hiding place. I wanted to just jump out and get her right now. But to do so would be a mistake, and I could not afford any more mistakes. The Tsi Sgili was powerful, and I had already let her distract me from my purpose once. But I would make her pay for what she did to my son.

I saw a flicker from behind the hedge and shot up into the air. Zoey, spotting my abrupt movement, shot a blast of spirit that was so strong it was visible, right into Neferet's hiding place. The force blew her backward and obliterated her cover. I closed the space between us in only a few strokes of my wings, and unleashed my vengeance on her. The blast from the young Priestess had weakened her, making her vulnerable to the powers that were mine to control thanks to my immortal birthright. It wasn't long until I felt the power of Zoey's circle surrounding me, closing in upon the Tsi Sgili. Zoey held her with another blast from spirit, forcing her down to her knees as I stood over her. Her eyes wide with fear, she opened her mouth to beg for mercy, but I moved in with one final, definitive blow.


End file.
